Local Woman Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking Conspiracy

ST. LOUIS, MO—Carla Mathews pled guilty to a charge involving the sex trafficking of two area women by force and intimidation on Thursday, October 10, before United States District Judge Henry Autrey.

According to court documents, between January 2010 and December 2011, Carla Mathews recruited and maintained women, physically assaulted them, and forced them to engage in prostitution in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Mathews took the women to various hotels and kept the money for herself. She confiscated their food stamp identification (EBT) cards to control them and deprive them of food and drink as a method of control and provided the drug MDMA and clothing in preparation for the commercial sex dates she arranged for them.

Mathews, St. Louis, pled guilty Thursday, October 10 to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion before United States District Judge Henry Autrey. Sentencing has been set for January 6, 2014.

Carla Mathews now faces 10 years to life in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.

Mathews' brother and co-defendant pled guilty to the same charges in March and was sentenced in July to 10 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Investigations, and the Breckenridge Hills Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Noelle Collins is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.